BHS Day 21: Charlie Sifford

Hi! I have to admit that one of the hardest categories for me to find entrants for is Sports. I'd like to learn and write about more than the mainstream sports that African-Americans are in, and I'd like to focus on athletes that maybe you hadn't heard about before, the athletes of yesterday who often don't get a mention anymore. In an effort to keep kickin' it old school with these Spotlights, I try to focus on the firsts, the pioneers, of different sports but since this isn't really my forte, I often overlook quite a few sports. The chosen sport of today's entrant is often one of those sports, as only one name comes to mind when I think of Black golfers. Today I get to increase that number by one and learn about who opened the door for him. 

Name: Charlie Sifford, 1922-2015 Profession: Professional golfer Why is the Spotlight on him today? For breaking racial barriers in the world of professional golfing and being able to cultivate a full career for himself despite the tensions Notables and accomplishments:
--Was the first African-American to receive full PGA membership, formally ending the PGA's "Whites only" rule
--Was the first Black golfer to beat White players during the Long Beach Open, a tournament co-sponsored by the PGA, shortly before the formal ending of the racial exclusion rule --Was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame --Competed in over 400 PGA tournaments throughout his career --Was the first African-American golfer to win a tournament fully sponsored by the PGA
--Won the Negro National Open or "The National" six times during the '50s
--Continued to golf professionally until the 70s, where he was successful on the Seniors leg of the tour --Was behind the creation of the Charlie Sifford Exemption, a rule that permits a player who furthers the diversity of golf to be invited to the Northern Trust Open
--Was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his accomplishments by former President Obama

Research resources and further reading links: Wikipedia | Biography | Freedom Facts and Firsts (excerpt) 

Quote of the Day:
"And in the end I won; I got a lot of Black people playing golf; that's good enough. If I had to do it over again, exactly the same way, I would."

--Charlie Sifford